R 400.8125 · R 400.8125 Staff; volunteer; requirements. (1) All staff and volunteers shall provide appropriate care and supervision of children at all times.

On 10/6/2022, I completed an unannounced on-site inspection at the child care center accompanied by child care licensing consultant Tim Swope. I informed licensee designee D'Lynn Smith of the allegations. Ms. Smith said when there are groups of children and child care staff members both inside and outside the child care staff members will send messages to each other if they are sending children either outside or inside. The child care staff members always make sure they receive a response from the other child care staff member to confirm they have the child that is moving locations. Ms. Smith said child care staff members take children to the door and verbally communicate with each other as much as possible. Child care staff members message each other that children are moving locations only if they are unable to leave their area to walk children to the door. Ms. Smith said she and the child care staff members are always counting children to make sure all children are accounted for. Ms. Smith said she often randomly questions child care 4 staff members on the number of children they have with them to make sure all children are present. We interviewed child care staff member Andrea Jewett. Ms. Jewett said care staff members attempt to directly take a child to the door when a child is required to transfer from inside to outside, or outside to inside. If a child care staff member is unable to leave their area to take a child directly to the door, then child care staff members communicate with each other via text message to let them know a child is coming in or going out. The child care staff member keeps their eyes on the child until the child reaches the door and sees that another child care staff member has opened the door for the child. If a child care staff member does not open the door for a child, the child care staff members confirms the child has reached their destination via text message. Ms. Jewett said she constantly counts children's heads scans the area she is working in to confirm all the children are accounted for and she has observed other child care staff members to do the same. We interviewed child care staff member Dominique Kowalk. Ms. Kowalk said if a child care staff member is unable to walk a child directly where they need to go if a child transfers between indoor and outdoor, or vice versa, the child care staff member uses an application the center uses to send a text message to another child care staff member to let them know a child is on their way in or out. The child care staff members watch the child until they get to the door and make sure they receive a confirmation text that the child has reached their destination. Ms. Kowalk said child care staff members use the text message system only if they are unable to walk a child directly to the destination. We interviewed child care staff member Morgan Hakeois. Ms. Hakeois said for younger children such as infants and toddlers, she has never seen a child care staff member send a child inside or outside by themselves. The child care staff members always take the children directly where they need to go. Ms. Hakeois said sometimes older children walk to the door by themselves. Child care staff members use an application to text child care staff members that a child is coming inside or outside. If a child care staff member is unable to accompany a child to the door, they will assure they make direct eye contact with the child care staff member who opens the door for the child so both know the child is with a child care staff member. We interviewed Child A's Mother at the center. Child A's Mother said she believes Child A is supervised well at the center. She believes child care staff members either watch Child A transitioning inside and outside the center or child care staff members have communication in place to notify each other of children's activities. During my inspection I found there to be groups of children both inside and outside the facility. During

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: supervision. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8170 · R 400.8170 Outdoor play area. .................................................. ................................................................................. ......................................................................................................................................... (10) An outdoor play area and any equipment located on the center's premises must be maintained in a safe condition and inspected daily before use to ensure that no hazards are present.

On 10/6/2022, I completed an unannounced on-site inspection at the child care center accompanied by child care licensing consultant Tim Swope. I informed licensee designee D'Lynn Smith of the allegations. Ms. Smith said the children like to dig holes while they are playing outside. Ms. Smith explained the outdoor play area is supposed to be fun and children are encouraged to play and get dirty. Ms. Smith said the children do not always refill the holes they dig so there are probably some shallow holes in the outdoor play area. Ms. Smith said she believes children should explore and be creative when they are playing outside. She does not have traditional playground equipment in her outdoor play area. She prefers to keep items that encourage children to use their imagination. Ms. Smith said if any children, child care staff members, or parents have tripped on one of the holes the children have dug, it has not been brought to her attention. We interviewed child care staff member Andrea Jewett. Ms. Jewett said she has seen children dig holes in the sandy parts of the outdoor play area. Ms. Jewett said she has never seen any children, child care staff members or parents' trip in any of the holes. We interviewed child care staff member Dominique Kowalk. Ms. Kowalk said when children are playing outside it is common for some of them to fall and get minor injuries during typical age-appropriate play. Ms. Kowalk does not believe children get hurt on a more frequent basis because of the items located in, or condition of, the outdoor play area at the center. We interviewed child care staff member Morgan Hakeois. Ms. Hakeois said if she observes any items in the play area to fall into disrepair and become a risk to children, she will address the issue right away. Ms. Hakeois said sometimes she and Ms. Smith "butt heads" on what items are considered hazardous to the children, but they usually work it out. Ms. Smith said children are encouraged to take some risks when they are playing outside. Ms. Hakeois has not seen children to be encouraged to take risks that would cause them to physically hurt themselves. The children are encouraged to expand their confidence by taking risks and trying new things. Ms. Hakeois said she believes the outdoor play area could be cleaned up some. However, Ms. Hakeois said she likes that the children have a wide variety of non- traditional play items in the outdoor play area. Ms. Hakeois said from her experience when children have traditional play equipment such as swings and slides, the children become bored with the equipment once they have mastered the task. We interviewed Child A's Mother at the center. Child A's Mother said she would like to see the outdoor play area to be a little more organized. However, she believes Child A enjoys being able to use his imagination and play in the less traditional play area offered at the center. Mr. Swope and I observed the outdoor play area. We found a plastic wheel barrow that was severely cracked with sharp edged, old wooden spool type structures that had long, rusted metal screws sticking out. We observed wooden tables with legs that had broken and splintered. There was a sandy area where toddlers were playing that contained brightly colored beads and buttons and a small hallow round plastic item. There was also what appeared to be broken pottery with sharp edges. We observed a few shallow holes where it appeared as if children had dug some holes in a sandy area. ..... .............................. .....................................................................................

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: physical safety. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8380 · R 400.8380 Maintenance of premises. ......................................... .................. (1) The premises must be maintained in a clean and safe condition and must not pose a threat to health or safety.

On 10/6/2022, I completed an unannounced on-site inspection at the child care center accompanied by child care licensing consultant Tim Swope. I informed licensee designee D'Lynn Smith of the allegations. I observed the rooms in the center. The children were participating in free play. The tables appeared to have various art activities spread around them. There were a few play items on the floor. The walls appeared to have been painted and drawn on by the children. Ms. Smith explained she believes in child led play activities. Ms. Smith believes children should be free to explore their surroundings and engage in play that is most interesting to the child on an individual basis. Ms. Smith said she realizes her philosophy of child care is much different from most child care centers. Ms. Smith agreed that she allows children to get both themselves and their environment messy. Ms. Smith said while the children in her care are not discouraged from making messes, she does not believe the center is unsanitary or a danger to children. Upon assessing the classrooms, I found the walls to contain drawing and scribbles done by children and the tables to be cluttered with age-appropriate art and craft items that children were utilizing. The toys on the floor were consistent with what would typically be expected with children playing during free play time. Overall, I did not observe any dirty or unsanitary areas or clutter that would cause a hazard to children. We interviewed child care staff members Andrea Jewitt, Dominique Kowal, and Morgan Hakeois. They all said the child care center can get a little messy due to the children engaging in child led activities. They all agreed the child care center does not look like a typical center due to Ms. Smith's approach to child care where she believes it is appropriate for children to make messes while playing. They all said the children's messes get cleaned up daily and they have not seen the condition of the center be in a state where it would be a danger to children. Ms. Hakeois said she is the type of person who likes to have everything organized and tidy. It took some time for her to adjust to Ms. Smith's child led play philosophy and to allow her classroom surroundings to be less tidy and organized as she was used to in the past. Ms. Hakeois said one of the child care parents told her that they used to take their child to one of the "pristine beautiful" centers. The parents watched videos of her child at the center and found that her child did not spend any time just playing. The parent reported to Ms. Hakeois that they were happy the first time they picked up their child and the child's clothes were dirty. The parent explained that dirty clothes mean their child was playing and enjoying themselves. We interviewed Child A's Mother at the center. Child A's Mother said she was a little surprised when she first saw the center. As with the outdoor play area, she thought the inside of the center could be a little more organized. Child A's Mother said once she gained a better understanding of how child let play works, she began to understand that all items don't have to be perfectly organized. Child A's Mother said she has never felt Child A was in danger due to the condition of the center.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Category: health medication. Open / not marked corrected.

R 400.8110 · 1 R 400.8110 Applicant; licensee; licensee designee; requirements. (7) A child shall only be released to persons authorized by the child's parent or guardian.

On 10/6/2022, I completed an unannounced on-site inspection at the child care center accompanied by child care licensing consultant Tim Swope. I informed licensee designee D'Lynn Smith of the allegations. Ms. Smith said child care staff members are typically good at asking for identification if someone different who they have never met comes to pick up a child. Ms. Smith said recently there was a situation where a parent was upset that a child care staff member did not ask for his identification the first time, he picked up his child. When Ms. Smith checked into the situation, she found that the child care staff member observed the child run up to the man and call him "dad." Ms. Smith said she reminded all the child care staff members to ask for identification of individual's they don't recognize when they pick up children. Ms. Smith verified that the father who had concerns about not having his identification checked was authorized to pick up the child. We interviewed child care staff member Andrea Jewett. Ms. Jewett said she always asks for identification if someone she doesn't recognize comes to pick up a child. Ms. Jewett said she observes other child care staff members to do the same. We interviewed child care staff member Dominique Kowalk. Ms. Kowalk said it is normally a routine for her and other child care staff members to ask adults they don't recognize for identification when they come to pick up a child. Ms. Kowalk recently said a father of a newer child was upset that nobody asked for his identification when he came to pick up his child for the first time. Ms. Kowalk explained to the father that she heard the child call the man "dad", so she felt comfortable letting the rj child go with the man. Ms. Kowalk apologized to the father and agreed she should check identifications of adults she does not recognize who come to pick up children. We interviewed child care staff member Morgan Hakeois. Ms. Hakeois said she always asks for identification when a different person than normal comes to pick up a child. Ms Hakeois said she checks both the person's identification and the child's information card to verify they are on the list to pick up the child. Typically, parents let them know ahead of time when a different person is coming to pick up a child. If a parent forgets to let her know ahead of time, Ms. Hakeois will verify the person's identification and name on the information card, then follow up with a text to parent as an extra precaution.

Open Not marked corrected in the state record

Open / not marked corrected.